Leaving camper plugged in all winter

[jtw]

Putting my unit to bed for the winter. How many of you guys leave your camper plugged in all winter, or remove batteries and store in warn cellar? I'm not sure if I seen an advantage to either one.

[usafdaddy]

Years ago it was recommended to me to remove the batteries, place them in the garage or cellar, and hook a trickle charger to each. In twenty years I have never had a problem following this procedure.

[Gman1372]

I've always left my boat plugged in. Pulling the batteries was a PIA. I was in and out of it through out the winter anyway. My new TT I store down the block with no electricity available. I plan to put her blanket on but leave the battery. I have a 6 volt solar charger. I have a few little projects I'd like to do this winter. If I didn't have projects I'd pull the battery.

[fochman]

I've left my camper plugged in for the last two winters and have not noticed any negative effects on the battery, that is now 5 years old. The first three winters I did not have a way to keep the camper plugged in and moved the battery into my basement and put a trickle charger on it monthly.

[rjackson]

I leave my trailer plugged in all year, done it with last 3 trailers. before that was tent, had no batteries

[Kim Gass]

We'll leave it plugged in. It gets to go to FL in Feb anyway..

[Ela1948]

Originally Posted by jtw

Putting my unit to bed for the winter. How many of you guys leave your camper plugged in all winter, or remove batteries and store in warn cellar? I'm not sure if I seen an advantage to either one.

You have a late model 5th wheel which means it has a multistage converter. As long as you have the more advanced 3 stage converter, there is no need to remove batteries for winter storage. Ours stay plugged in 24/7 when we aren't using it. Have done that for the last 5 years since we upgraded to a camper with the more advanced converter.

[ArcticFire]

We unplug and remove batteries. -40C during the winter is just NOT good for the gear. They get stored in the garage and attached to a tender.

[ALJO]

Year round on shore power.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by ALJO

Year round on shore power.

X-2 for 39 years. With the older chargers just checked the battery about every 60 days as usual.

[SkyBound]

I take my Trojan twins out for the winter and they stay in a semi-heated room on a Battery Tender. The coldest they see is about -5*C for storage. Remember to check and top up your water levels with distilled water before you put them away for the winter!

[abarkl]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

X-2 for 39 years. With the older chargers just checked the battery about every 60 days as usual.

x3 but we live in lower AZ.

One consideration to leaving it plugged in is the charger and its electronics may not be rated by the manufacturer for extreme temperatures.
Our Progressive Dynamics 9280 has rating of -20 to +80 C or -4 to +176 F.

Although some electronics may seem to work just fine in extreme temperatures, they can suffer from degraded performance and a limited life span.

Most battery manufacturers agree that cold temperatures do not affect batteries and the discharge rate is actually less.

As mentioned, don't forget to check the water level before storing, but the battery should also be fully charged. So if leaving them in place and not on shore power, disconnect the battery to avoid parasitic drain.

[eldermike]

Ours is used all year and it's plugged all year. For the few weeks that we have possible single digit temps I might blow out the lines. But since we leave the heat on all winter I may not because we have heat in the basement and the tanks.

[NVGun40]

Checking in from Alaska here. It gets pretty darn cold once in a while. Still we leave the trailer plugged in all the time with the batteries on it. They do just fine.

[spoon059]

Originally Posted by Ela1948

You have a late model 5th wheel which means it has a multistage converter. As long as you have the more advanced 3 stage converter, there is no need to remove batteries for winter storage.

Does anyone know what type of converter is used by Jayco from the factory? I have a 2015 JayFlight (made in early 2015) and have whatever stock converter they supply.

I have always kept my trailer plugged in while at home, but we this is our 2nd camper in 6 years, so I don't have too much empirical evidence of battery maintenance. So far it has worked out ok for me.

[Mustang65]

2015 has the smart charger... just check your batteries water level every now and then. Even though our TT is powered by SOLAR 24/7, I still check mine the 1st day of each month. Do I need to? Probably not, but I would rather catch something going bad in the early stages.. like a corroded cable connector, loose connector.. as that could interfere with a proper charge and possibly kill the batteries if left unattended.

Don

[Tunce the traveler]

Originally Posted by ALJO

Year round on shore power.

I do the same with my setup next to the house.

[Drake]

Originally Posted by jtw

Putting my unit to bed for the winter. How many of you guys leave your camper plugged in all winter, or remove batteries and store in warn cellar? I'm not sure if I seen an advantage to either one.

I have left my last two trailers plugged in all winter, with no issues. I think the battery charging systems on the new trailers have much "smarter" controls and don't over charge.

[3'senough]

8 years of plugged in 365 with monitoring of fluid levels every 60 days on avg.

[Paintinfool3]

My battery comes out and into my shop for winter and always has. If you have a place to park and keep your camper plugged in you could but why waste the electricity and use the convertor charger more than you had to if camper is not in use.